Near To You
by OhhLayla
Summary: Dani is young and scared and on her own in California. Everything changes when Joe Jonas walks into the coffee shop she calls home. Will Dani be able to fight off the demons of her past in order to make a relationship with Joe work?
1. Introduction

Here's my new story! I'm really excited about this one. I just have a feeling about it. I'll still be writing Summer, but I'll be writing this one as well. This is a Joe fanfic, if you're wondering. It's also going to partially be a songfic, inspired by and using songs by A Fine Frenzy, Duffy and others. There won't be any songs that I wrote myself, so anytime there is a song, I don't claim to have written it. All songs are property of their prospective writers.

**There will be a few things different from Summer. First, I'll be writing in first person for the majority of the story. Any scenes or chapters that don't include my main character will be told in third person. Or maybe the perspective of one of the boys. I'm not sure yet. Second, I'm going to name the chapters. Not a huge deal, but I think it will be cool. Third, I'm going to include a lot of music. I'll make sure to list songs and give credit where credit is due.**

**This is just the intro. I want you to get acquainted. I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

The walls of Carpe Diem coffee shop are very familiar to me. The painted grey brick walls adorned with local artwork, photography and pictures of the regulars, have been my home away from home for the past eight months or so. Though it was located in Los Angeles, it wasn't a trendy, over priced coffee shop. It was Located near California State University and its clientele didn't include the likes of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. It included me, among others.

I'm Danielle Thompson, but mostly I'm called Dani. I'll be nineteen come winter. December to be exact- the saddest time of the year. If you're wondering what I look like, it's nothing special. I'm about 5'4". Average. I have long naturally black hair. Average. I'm not going to tell you what I weigh, but I'll tell you it's average. You could say I'm tan maybe. But I haven't frequented a tanning bed since leaving home. It was just another luxury sacrificed. My dark brown eyes need the help of contacts to see. I have a pair of glasses I wear rarely. They're a few years old and I'm pretty sure I need a new prescription. I don't wear designer. My wardrobe is a mere shadow of what it was in Maine. I traveled light. I don't have a trust fund. I won't get an inheritance. I don't go to school. I live in a slum of an apartment building that I can barely afford. I live alone. Except for my dog, Romeo. He came with me.

Enough about me. Let's talk more about my little coffee shop. Carpe Diem was a refuge for people like me. People wandering often wandered into Carpe Diem. It was dark, but it had charm. You were drawn toward it. It was welcoming. It was the first place I came to when I got to Los Angeles. I hadn't heard of it, I wasn't meeting anyone. I just happened upon it by chance. I walked into the small coffee shop with everything I owned. A suitcase, two duffle bags, my purse and Romeo. The man and woman behind the counter (later I would learn they were the husband and wife owners of the shop) were intrigued and asked me where I had come from. I gave them a brief, abridged version of my history. They were a mixture of sympathetic and encouraging. They offered me a job on the spot, which I gladly took. They also pointed me in the direction of a cheap motel where I could stay until I found a more permanent residence.

I was working the next day, learning how to make all those complicated and impossibly delicious coffee drinks and smoothies. While I was working, Jane and Clinton, my bosses and who would later become like my surrogate parents, circled ads in a paper for apartments I might be able to afford. After checking out about ten places, and living for a week in the roach motel, I settled on a place. It wasn't glamorous like a Los Angeles apartment should be, but it was cheap. I did the best I could with the one bedroom, one bathroom and a kitchen/living room. I used up a big portion of my savings on the deposit and first month's rent. I used another big chunk on furnishings and necessities like pots and pans, towels, and toiletries. I worked full time at Carpe Diem, which was my only source of income. I picked up as many hours as I could. I had nothing better to do than work. It was less lonely than being in my tiny apartment alone and sometimes they let me bring in Romeo. He was a four-pound Pomeranian and everyone loved him.

After working at Carpe Diem for a few weeks I began to get to know the regulars. There's Andy, a college drop out who smoked a lot of weed and was in the process of writing a novel. He couldn't make the grades in college, but I've read his book and it was not bad in any sense. He's 23. He comes to Carpe Diem everyday, orders a large coffee black and works on his novel. If we're slow we'll visit for a while, but I hate to distract him from his work.

Then there's Carolyn. She's my best friend out here. She's 24 and has a seven-year-old daughter. They live on the same floor of the crummy apartment building I live in. She's been on her own a long time and knows what I'm going through. She comes in pretty much everyday. Most days she comes in during the hour she has after she gets off work and before she picks up Claire from school. Sometimes she brings Claire with her. Claire always gets a medium chocolate milk with whipped cream and caramel syrup, while her mom usually gets a caramel latte with an extra shot of espresso. I'm sure you can imagine why.

Melinda is a middle-aged waitress. She usually comes in late and gets a cup of tea and a double chocolate muffin.

Jared is 20. He's an aspiring musician/songwriter/poet/playwright/actor/personal trainer. He always says he's keeping his options open. He orders either decaf coffee or a smoothie. He says the caffeine gives him the shakes and hinders his music making. He's the one who convinced me to take to the stage. If you could call Carpe Diem's small raised platform a stage. Late one night he was the only customer we had and he was playing his guitar, working on a song. I asked him if I could see it for a minute and I began to play. It was the first time I played since I'd left home. I was a little rusty but it came back quickly. He convinced me to sing for him and ever since then we've been playing and singing together a few nights a week at Carpe Diem. We weren't the Beatles, but we drew a few extra customers. I had some original songs and Jared had some as well. We had songs that we collaborated on but our biggest hits were covers. People would ask if we knew such and such a song and we'd work on it and make them promise to come back next week. Next thing you know and we're playing top 40 songs. It brought in customers and that's all that mattered.

There were other regulars, but they're less important. Jane, Clinton, Andy, Carolyn, Claire, Melinda and Jared were my family. I wouldn't have made it without them. Now, you're probably wondering what makes my story worth telling. To tell you the truth, I don't know if it is worth telling. But telling it is something I need to do for myself.

My name is Dani Thompson. I'm broke. I live in Los Angeles with my dog. I miss my mom. I work at a coffee shop. My life had no purpose, no direction. And it all started at a seven-year-old's makeshift birthday party.


	2. I Couldn't Believe My Eyes

Monday Chapter one guys! I'm excited! I really hope you like it. Leave lots of reviews and I'll update as quickly as I can. Thanks to my first reviewers. It means a lot. Love you guys!!

ENJOY!

Friday

"I really want to thank you for doing this. There was no way I could get my hands on Hannah Montana tickets for Claire. I tried to explain to her that we couldn't afford them, but she was disappointed. She tried not to cry. She's so sweet. I don't know how I got so lucky. I can't wait to see her face when she sees you dressed up as Hannah Montana. You and Jared are incredible." Carolyn thanked me for the third time. When she first told me about not being able to get Hannah Montana tickets for Claire's seventh birthday, I offered to learn some Hannah Montana songs and sing for her. My idea evolved from just singing a few songs and turned into a full-blown surprise party at Carpe Diem. We had decorations and I had even found a blonde wig at a costume shop near by. Everyone at Carpe Diem chipped in. We wanted to make it a night Claire couldn't forget.

"I told you Carolyn, it's no problem. It's actually going to be fun. Me and Jared have been watching Disney Channel and Hannah Montana videos and everything. We've got a few routines that Claire is going to love. We also learned some songs from some of those Disney movies she loves. You know, Camp Rock and High School Musical." Carolyn and I laughed at the hilarity of it all. I never thought I'd be impersonating a fifteen-year-old pop star. But then I also never thought I'd leave home at 18 and move across the country with my dog, but things change.

"She's going to love it. I just know it. I just wish I could've gotten her those tickets."

"I think this will more than make up for it. Want a refill? It's on the house." Carolyn and I were sitting at Carpe Diem before she had to go pick up Claire from school. I was on break and Jane was behind the counter.

"Sure. I'm nervous and could use the extra energy," Carolyn answered. I grabbed her cup and headed behind the counter. I made her latte quickly and returned to the conversation.

"We're going to take care of decorating and everything. Jane's making the cake and Jared and I will set up the stage. All you have to worry about it getting Claire here around nine." I know that you're thinking that nine o'clock is pretty late for a seven-year-old, but Jared didn't get off work until then and I couldn't very well be Hannah Montana without him and a couple of his friends who were going to be my band for the night.

"I'll have her nap before so she won't get cranky. Oh and I have to remember to bring my camera."

"That's really not necessary, Carol." Carolyn laughed at my obvious embarrassment about dressing up as Hannah Montana. I was doing it for Claire, but I didn't want to have to be reminded of it through pictures, which I'm sure Jane will hang up on the walls.

"Oh, but it is. But I better get going," Carolyn said while standing and gathering up her things. She reached for her coffee mug but I cut her off.

"Leave it, I'll take care of it. I'll see you tonight."

"Ok, thanks so much again, Dani. I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

"We'll work out the fine details later, Carol. As long as no one important sees me dressed up as Hannah Montana you won't owe me too much," I said as I hugged her goodbye.

After she left I put my apron back on and resumed my position behind the counter. I still had two hours until I got off at four o'clock and they were dragging by. An hour later and after being customer-less for half an hour Jane let out an exasperated sigh and stood up from her position on the stool behind the bar.

"Why don't you go ahead and take off, Dani?" Jane suggested.

"Are you sure? I don't mind staying." I really didn't mind staying, but the prospect of taking a nap before getting ready for the party did sound appealing.

"Yeah, go ahead. The three o'clock hour is always dead anyway. I'll see you tonight. Around eight, right?"

"Sounds good. That should be enough time to get ready for everything. I'll see you then." I hung up my apron and grabbed my purse out of the back.

I made the four block journey to my apartment building. Using my key to get inside, I took the stairs up to the third floor. I could hear Romeo's tiny bark as my key jingled in the lock. Once inside, I sat my purse and keys down on the floor and knelt down to greet him. He stretched his little paws up to my hands and his tail wagged furiously. He made living alone in a foreign city bearable. He's been the only boy in my life that's never let me down, but I don't want to complain.

I had a lot to do before the party tonight, so much that I decided there wasn't enough time for a nap. I wanted to have time to brush up on my act. I wanted it to be as good as possible for Claire. And for Carloyn. I think it meant more to here than anyone, which is understandable. We'd been practicing for about a month now. We being me, Jared and a few of his friends who were going to be our band and backup vocals for the night. Lisa, the girl singing backup was a client of Jared's at the run down gym he was a "personal trainer" at. The boys playing bass guitar and drums were old friends of his that supposedly owed him a favor. Personally, I just think they wanted an excuse to play in front of people.

I needed to shower before I did anything else. So after setting out Romeo's food and water, I headed to the bathroom to shower and what not. Taking longer than necessary, I finally got out when the water started running cold. Wrapping myself in a towel, I ambled around my apartment slowly getting ready. I let my hair dry naturally wavy since it would spend time pinned up under a wig anyway. I looked at the outfits laying on my bed that I had picked out for the night. Some of the clothes were my own and some I'd scavenged from the Salvation Army. I had one outfit for being Hannah Montana and one for when I'd sing everything else.

My outfit for Hannah Montana consisted of (from the top down) a blonde wig, a long black sequined tank top, a pair of ripped short shorts, hot pink leggings and black low-top Chuck Taylors. I had also laid out a bunch of sparkly bangle bracelets to complete the look. My other outfit was my shot at redemption. It was a black wrap dress that was fitted and hit just above the knee. I had a pair of black stilettos that I never had a reason to wear anymore sitting on the floor next to my sneakers. Neither of these outfits were the one I put on first, though. Anyone who lives in a city knows it would be dangerous to wear a short dress and stiletto heels to walk down the street. Instead I put on some sweats and a t-shirt for the walk over. After getting dressed, I carefully packed my outfits into a duffle bag so everything would be ready to go when I needed to leave at 7:30.

After paying some much needed attention to Romeo, running through some of the songs we were performing and doing my make-up, I grabbed my things and headed toward Carpe Diem.

"Hey! Look who it is everybody. Hannah Montana!"

"Shut up, Andy!" I yelled good-naturedly in response to Andy's teasing. "This place looks great though."

"We were slow, so we decided to get started early," Jane informed me. I looked around at the decorated coffee shop. In addition to the traditional balloons and crepe paper, there were also posters all over the shop. In just one quick glance I noticed Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, Aly & Aj, and Zac Efron Posters.

"Hannah, wanna get your ass over here and practice or are you too famous for us now?" Jared called across the room. A quick glance towards the stage told me that Jared and the others were already set up and ready to go.

"Yeah, yeah. Let me go change. I like your tight pants by the way," I winked and laughed as I poked fun at Jared and the other boys' clothes. We made them dress up in outfits that The Jonas Brothers would wear. Even Jane and Clinton were dressed for the occasion. I walked into the back room and put on my black dress and heels and left my bag in there for later.

"Do you care if we run through the Aly and Aj song?" Lisa asked. "I'm a little shaky on the movements."

"Sounds good to me," I answered. The boys got together and started playing. Lisa and I made sure our mics were on and began singing and dancing. "_It took too long, it took too long, it took too long for you to call back_…" When the song was over, everyone else in the shop clapped. You could tell by the looks on our faces that we were a little bit embarrassed, but we were willing to deal with it for Claire's sake.

"That was so great!" Jane exclaimed. Though Jane was only in her late thirties, she was like Claire's surrogate grandmother. Carolyn's parents basically disowned her when she got pregnant at sixteen and since Jane didn't have any children of her own, she took on the nurturing role for all of us misfits. Even Andy listened to her when she suggested his hair needed a trim.

We ended up running through a few more songs before it was almost time for Carolyn to bring Claire. At about quarter 'til, Claire's best friend, Kayla, and her mom arrived. Kayla loved the decorations, so we knew Claire would as well. Lisa and I made a joint trip to the bathroom to freshen up while everyone made sure everything was in place. Carolyn called Jane to let her know they were almost there, so in traditional surprise party style, we shut off the lights and hid behind tables. We were leaving the shop open during the party, but turning off the lights for a minute wouldn't hurt anything. A few customers who had come in a little bit earlier were actually staying for the party. Once they heard the whole story, they were interested and asked if they could stay. Clinton was planning on staying behind the counter in case anyone came in during the party.

While crouching behind a chair I heard the door open and Carolyn say, "Oh, I wonder why all the lights are off…" Clinton hearing his cue, flipped on the light and we all yelled surprise. I'm not sure if I could ever accurately describe the look on Claire's face. First, her wide eyes surveyed the shop, taking in all the decorations. She immediately dropped her mom's hand and squealed in shear delight. She ran to Jane, then to me, then to Andy, giving us all hugs.

"If you think this is good," Andy started, "wait until you see what we have lined up for you next."

"Yeah, come sit up here, Claire." Jane motioned to a group of chairs that were set up closest to the stage. While Claire was taking her seat between Carolyn and Kayla, we all made our way to the stage. Claire looked up expectantly, not really sure of what was going on.

"Welcome, everybody! Welcome to Claire's seventh birthday party!" I said enthusiastically through the microphone. Everyone clapped as if on clue. "We have a special musical guest who's really excited to perform. Everybody sit tight and I'll go get her!" I stepped down from the stage and walked calmly to the back room. Once inside I quickly pulled my heels and dress off and began pulling on my Hannah Montana outfit. After tying my sneakers, I pinned m hair up sloppily and pulled on the blonde wig. I looked in the mirror I brought to make sure no black hair was showing. I laughed to myself; unable to believe I was actually doing this.

As I walked out of the backroom, everyone turned in his or her seats. Claire and Kayla simultaneously shrieked. They knew it wasn't the real Hannah Montana but they were excited nonetheless.

"Hannah Montana, ladies and gentlemen. Hannah Montana!" Introduced Jared while encouraging everyone to clap. I jumped on stage energetically and grabbed the mic.

"Hey, everyone. Hannah here. You guys ready to get things started?" Claire and Kayla yelled, while the adults clapped and laughed and talked amongst themselves. Carolyn was snapping away with her camera. I was going to have to confiscate that later.

The girls got especially excited and the boys started playing "The Best of Both Worlds." I started singing and Lisa did back up. I did the best I could, and not to brag, but we did amazing. As the song progressed, I found it easier to get into when I saw not only the look on Claire's face, but the look on Carolyn's as well.

Near the end of the show I heard the jingle of the door. Customers. _Oh great_, I thought to myself. _More people to see me parading around as pre-pubescent Disney star_. I concentrated on finishing the song, while looking at the customers out of the corner of my eye. There were four of them. I couldn't see their faces because they were facing the counter, ordering. The giant man with them who was standing closest to me obscured the rest of them.

As I finished the last line of our opening song, the large man moved and the other three made their way to the table farthest from the stage. The table sat in the darkest corner of the shop. I was the only one who noticed them. The audience was all facing forward and didn't bother to glance back.

I couldn't believe my eyes. I didn't believe my eyes. Until Joe made eye contact with me, that is.


End file.
